The Torero men are at Georgetown (18-3-2) this weekend, facing the No. 3-seeded Hoyas in an Elite 8 match. A win here, and it's off to the Final Four for this unlikely USD (14-8) squad which just keeps winning.

Like last Saturday against host Tulsa, when a boisterous crowd and a solid team stood in USD's path. Down 1-0, the Toreros rallied and when Brandt drove home the match-winner in a 2-1 verdict, well, that's when the crickets appeared.

“It was very rowdy,'' Brandt said. “They had like 1,000 people there and we had about 12 fans.''

But when Brandt converted Patrick Wallen's amazing over-the-shoulder pass for the second-half goal, the rowdies went mute.

Chirp, chirp and how again did this little bug of an unseeded, unranked USD team get this far?

“I think we have surprised everyone else,'' said midfielder Dan Delgado, the former San Pasqual High star. “But we knew we had a good team.''

So did their rascal of a coach, Seamus McFadden. In his 34th season at USD, there's not much he hasn't seen. So when telling his charges to keep their chins up after starting 2-6, they listened.

“I was always adamant about that; we are a good team and I kept telling the kids they were a good team,'' McFadden said. “We wanted to get it right for conference.''

The West Coast Conference opener arrived, but the losing stayed. A loss to Santa Clara had McFadden scratching his head.

“I think they believed me but I was starting to doubt myself,'' he said, with a chuckle.

The Toreros got serious, ditching their 4-3-3 alignment for a 4-4-2 setup which has them in the 202 – Washington D.C.'s area code.

They'll try to dial up some more magic, and after eliminating Cal State Northridge, UCLA and Tulsa –- all top-25 teams -- the non-believers are sparse.

“We started slow, changed some things around and finally figured it out,'' Delgado said.

McFadden, the WCC coach of the year, knew what he was yapping about. He leans on Delgado, last season's WCC player of the year, and his band of mates.

“Donny is a very sophisticated player that can hurt you,'' McFadden said. “But the key is getting them to all play well together. That is that secret.''

McFadden has traveled this road before. His 1992 team was the national runner-up, but it was loaded.

That's not to suggest this edition is star-free –- far from it. But the '92 bunch was a top dog; this one has more tail-wagging than bark.

In '92, USD knocked off No. 1-ranked University of Portland. Then it beat UOP again, 3-0, to capture the conference title.

In '12, USD got knocked around, found its legs, and is one win shy of the Final Four.

“That '92 team was extremely talented,'' said McFadden, of Rancho Penasquitos. “This team is talented but more of a team. And it's more fun because this really surprised me.''

Similar to Brandt's play. A former standout at Temecula's Great Oak High, Brandt transferred from Cal State Dominguez Hills. Like the Toreros, he broke from the gate with little pizzazz.

“It definitely worked out for me but it took a while,'' said Brandt, who has scored in three straight matches and has the winning shot in two of them. “It's definitely a lot faster than Division II. The guys are stronger, quicker and their technique is better.''

Added McFadden: “He's a good one. But it took him a little while to adjust. But he has certainly gotten there now at this stage of the game.''

At this point of his career, McFadden has a shock of white hair. Just maybe, tracking the nail-biting Toreros has erased his final touch of gray.

In all three playoff matches, the Toreros trailed, 1-0, before prevailing.

“They are making me an old man,'' he said. “Sitting on sidelines, well, it's tough. Soccer can be a 90-minute exercise in frustration.''